Busboys and Poets Books Presents GOD OF MERCY
Date and Time
Mar 17, 2022 6:00 pm
Location
14th & V
2021 14th St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20009
Mar 17, 2022 6:00 pm
14th & V
"We honor our traditions, but when they can no longer serve us, we drown them in the deepest river."
In Ichulu, an Igbo village, the people’s worship of their gods is absolute. While its neighboring villages have been colonized, Ichulu’s adherence to tradition has allowed them to maintain their independence. But a war between gods is brewing, signaled by Ijeoma, a girl who can fly. As tensions grow between Ichulu and its neighboring villages, Ijeoma is forced into exile. Reckoning with her powers and exposed to the world beyond Ichulu, she is imprisoned by a Christian church under the accusation of being a witch. Suffering through isolation, she comes to understand the truth of merciful love.
Okezie Nwọka, born and raised in Washington D.C, brings us a powerful debut novel with a different version of a history erased. GOD OF MERCY is about wrestling with gods, confronting demons, and understanding one's true purpose. Nwọka joins us on stage to discuss reimagining the nature of tradition and cultural heritage, and establishing a folklore of the uncolonized.
Joining Okezie to discuss their work is Alexia Arthurs. A graduate of Hunter College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Alexia has published fiction in Granta, The Sewanee Review, Small Axe, Virginia Quarterly Review, Vice, Shondaland, Buzzfeed, and The Paris Review, which awarded her the Plimpton Prize in 2017. How to Love a Jamaican is her first book. She is an Assistant Professor at George Mason University.
This event is free and open to all, accessible through our Facebook and Youtube pages (@busboysandpoets).
The program will begin at 6 PM with an introduction from a member of our team. There will be time for Q&A with the audience before the end of the program, and you can purchase a SIGNED COPY of GOD OF MERCY. Copies of the book are available for purchase through Eventbrite for our Livestream audience. We asks that guests wear masks when they are not eating or drinking.
We recommend that viewers RSVP in order to receive direct links to the event from Busboy and Poets Books. Dinner service will be available throughout the show!
Praise for GOD OF MERCY:
Okezie Nwọka's debut novel, God of Mercy . . . continues a powerful literary tradition of representing Igbo resistance to colonial pressures. Like Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (1958), God of Mercy narrates both the dignified beauty of Igbo village life and also the village's struggle with its own traditions.
--Cynthia R. Wallace, Ploughshares
While this tremendous work is most readily described as magical realism or as a work of fable, God of Mercy is too powerful to stay within the confines of a single genre . . . Written in verse that recalls the rhythm of fables, Nwoka eloquently details the perseverance and thriving of a young woman descended from a people who have resisted colonization at every turning point in history.
--Maya C. James, Locus
Nwoka's debut feels like a dream, or a fable, or something in between . . . The vestiges of colonialism run deep throughout this novel, as well as themes of forgiveness and compassionate love . . Recommended for fans of Nnedi Okorafor's Remote Control or Nghi Vo's The Empress of Salt and Fortune.
--Ashley Rayner, Booklist
In Okezie Nwọka's dazzling and disquieting novel God of Mercy, battles between gods reignite a war between religions . . . Rife with magical realism and full of promise . . . God of Mercy undertakes a scrupulous review of the destructive power of colonialism through an imprisoned, gifted girl.
--George Hajjar, Starred Review, Foreword Reviews
Nwoka trusts readers to follow the story without much expository cultural background, and the result feels authentic and organic. Book clubs looking for stories to inspire deep discussion need look no further.
--Shelf Awareness
